Category Archives: Navigational Design

This is a very interesting place located at Lake Gardens, Kuala Lumpur. It is our National Planetarium. The National Planetarium was established on 1994 by the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment during the new era in space science and technology for Malaysia. The center is not only focused the nation’s attention on the overall design and architecture and unique facilities of the Planetarium but also brought to light the government’s serious commitment to the development of space science and technology.

This photo is showing the main entrance of National Planetarium with a simple navigational board placed just beside the “Planetarium Negara” signboard. However, the security guard said that it is not the primary directory board.

Finally i found the primary directory board of National Planetarium. It is found after the 30 seconds ride from the main entrance and located beside the car park.

LOCATION

The location of this primary directory board is not so ideal as it is built on the remote place where most of the visitors included me will just get ignore.

Therefore, i have suggested some of the place to locate the new primary directory board which it can be easily discover by visitors. The places i found are shown as below:-

The first suggestion location would be in front of the tree, it is easy to capture visitor’s attention.

In order to make the visitor’s life easy, the second location would be the replacement of the existing advertisement board.

The third ideal location for putting the primary directory board would be the replacement of the existing Nation Planetarium signboard on the area shown above.

LAYOUT

I would like to comment on the overall layout of the this board.

Theme: The theme they used for this board failed to represent the concept of space as they did not realize they were designed a primary directory board for a National Planetarium. They should build a board based on the concept of space by using the most related object which are more easily recognized by visitors instead of just simply putting a “Meaningless shape”.

Interface: the design on the board itself seems like so dirty and have been used for a long period or may be since it established. They should always keep the board clean and update the information to avoid complaint from visitor as this is one of the tourism place in Malaysia.

Dimension: The overall width and height is just nice.

Color: The color used in the board did not caused any problem to the overall layout. As any theme is used, black is always the right choice.

Logo: The logo for this board is quite good in terms of the size and assigned location. However, the badge seems like kinda small which can be easily ignore by the visitors.

Arrow: the pattern of the arrows will be easily confused the visitor as the direction seems like the same for all. I recommend they should redesign the pattern of the arrows.

After gone through and commented on the overall layout and design, installed location and others related to the primary directory board of National Planetarium, i wish to give 60% for this board as i think it still have a lot of space to be improved. By the way, the further enhancement will continue in the Project 1. For sure, it will be far more better than the existing one.

Navigational design can be defined as the wayfinding system, encompasses all of the ways in which people and animals orient themselves in physical space and navigate from place to place. It does links different people together, even if they do not share a common language or destination, by guiding all of them through the same place with a single system of communication.

Basically, the wayfinding system can be found as the signages maintained in physical spaces to help people navigate. For instance, signages in the building, airport, park or a mall would provide information on where to find what and where we currently are.

Most wayfinding systems can be separated down into several categories of signages which are identification, directional, orientation, and regulatory.

Identification Signage: The building blocks of wayfinding, it usually give the first impression of a destination. They are visual markets that show the name and function of a place or space, whether it is a room, an individual building, or a campus gateway. They located at the beginning and end of routes and indicate entrances and exits to primary and secondary destinations.

Directional Signage: It constitute the circulatory system of a wayfinding program because they provide the necessary cues that users need to keep on the move once they have entered a space. This sign type routes pedestrian or vehicular traffic between main entrances, key decision points, destinations, and exit points by showing graphic prompts, such as typography, symbols, and arrows. While their design should harmonize with the surrounding architecture, directional signages also need to be common and recognizable. Message content should be simple, coordinated for easy navigation through an entire facility, and based on a specific wayfinding strategy.

Orientation Signage: In order to make a complicated space less baffling, orientation signage offer visitors and overview of their surroundings in the form of comprehensive site maps and directories. The design of orientation signages need s to coordinate with other identification and directional signages in a system. When all these signages work together, visitors are able to move easily along circulation routes.

Regulatory Signage: It can be described as the do’s and dont’s of a place. It can be as simple as a No Smoking sign or a more complex display with rules indicating how citizens should enjoy and respect their public park. Some regulatory messages, particularly those that describe egress from a building, need to comply with legal codes. As codes vary from one justification to another, it is important to become familiar with local regulations that apply to the site under consideration.